American resources

According to Bloomberg, the Saudi Railway Organization has successfully tested a newly-built railway line connecting phosphate and bauxite mines in the North of Saudi Arabia, operated by Saudi Arabian Mining, with the Persian Gulf.

A country well aware of the importance of natural resources as a wealth-driving factor – after all it is the world’s biggest exporter of oil – Saudi Arabia sees the railway project as part of a bigger plan to diversify its economy away from oil.  Phosphate and bauxite production certainly won’t rival oil, but this smart strategic move immediately puts Saudi Arabia on the map as one of the top ten bauxite-producing countries.

If there’s a lesson here for the U.S. (all of whose bauxite is foreign-sourced, by the way) it’s that if even affluent nations with no obvious immediate need to diversify their resource bases are reassessing their mineral policies, we can’t afford not to do the same if we want to be competitive in the long run.

On Tuesday, May 24, 2011, I testified on behalf of American Resources Policy Network before the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, which held a hearing on the issue of “domestic minerals supplies and demands in a time of foreign supply disruption.” (Read my testimony here and watch my remarks here.)

One of my main goals was to highlight that in order to maintain our modern economy, we need a steady supply of metals and minerals – and that choosing not to produce the ones we have beneath our home turf perpetuates a needless and potentially harmful foreign dependence.

Subcommittee Chairman Doug Lamborn (R, CO-05) set the tone in his opening remarks:

We will continue to ship American jobs overseas and forfeit our economic competitiveness unless we take steps to develop our own mineral resources … Developing our Nation’s mineral resources is not only an integral part of an all-of-the-above energy plan but it will create long-term family wage jobs, stimulate our economy and reduce our foreign dependence on mineral resources.

Congress isn’t lacking these days for issues demanding its attention.  ARPN will be watching to see whether Chairman Lamborn and his fellow Members who have the House Natural Resource portfolio can get their colleagues to give resource security the attention it deserves.

Tuesday, May 24th at 9:00 a.m. EST, I will be testifying on behalf of ARPN before the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, which is holding a hearing on the issue of “domestic minerals supplies and demands in a time of foreign supply disruption.” Download and read the release announcing [...]

Adding fuel to the fire of the rare-earth crisis we have been following on our blog, the Australian Associated Press reports that the Chinese government announced today its decision to further tighten rare earths export quotas, previously applied to “pure” rare earths only, to include iron alloys containing more than 10 percent of rare earths [...]

A new study by the Metals Economics Group (MEG) outlines that when it comes to potential new precious and base metals mining discoveries, the Americas have dominated the rest of the world in the last three years. This means that initial drill results show a “significant deposit” that “has obvious commercial value.” In light of [...]

In Rare Earth Woes Could Mean Trouble for U.S. Stealth Fleet, Christine Parthemore takes a look behind the headlines at the materials that give the U.S. Military its high-tech edge: “Ever since Osama bin Laden’s demise, aviation sleuths have been trying to figure out what was the mystery copter that Delivered Seal Team Six.  I’ve [...]

The New American recently provided an in-depth look at Chinese investments into the world’s minerals and metals supply. I’ve included an excerpt below, but I recommend you click here to read the full article. While the piece was certainly compelling, I want to point out a few key facts that were not included. The author, [...]

In yet another indication that a global race for resources is in full swing, this opinion piece carried by the Russian news agency Ria Novosti suggests that Russia, a generally resource-rich country, should rethink its long-held position that prospecting for minerals outside its own territory is not necessary.  According to the author, Africa, another area [...]

Recent decisions by China, the world’s leading rare earths producer, to tighten export restrictions and raise taxes have set off a flurry of global activity as nations are looking for ways to respond to these new realities. In the United States, policy initiatives aimed at securing an ongoing supply of these mineral materials are being [...]

It is easy to pity the U.S. policymaker, who has more than a few crises to cope with, but America can no longer afford to push aside the critical issue of metals and minerals.  Decisions made now — or inaction, which is a decision in itself — will shape our economic competitiveness and national security [...]